Many critics affirm that St Peter's is somewhat disappointing, architecturally considered, while some critics maintain that it is one of the finest churches in the world. The colonnades, with their gallery of sculptured images, are stately and impressive. It is the huge façade that disappoints. Nevertheless, St Peter's is a stupendous temple, with a dignity and majesty of its own. The interior is garish; we miss the dim religious light and the atmosphere of sober piety so manifest in the cathedrals of Spain. As a repository of masterpieces St Peter's is world-famous. Here is "The Virgin and Dead Christ," the finest of Michael Angelo's early statues. Angelo spent various periods in Rome, after his first stay of five years. He was in the city at the age of sixty, and much of his work was executed when he was growing old. It was in the evening of his days that he became the close friend of Vittoria Colonna, the inspirer of his poetry, and after her death, in 1547, he entered upon a spell of ill-health and sadness. But his activities were marvellous, even in old age. In 1564 he planned the Farnese Palace for Paul III., and directed the building of the Church of Santa Maria. Immensity is the chief impression of the interior of St Peter's. Even the figures of cherubs are gigantic. The great nave with its marble pavement and huge pillars, is long-drawn from the portal to the altar, and the space within the great dome is bewildering in its vastness. The bronze statue of St Peter, whose foot is kissed yearly by thousands of devotees, is noted here among the numerous images. At the altar we shall see Canova's statue of Pius VI., the chair of St Peter, and tombs of the Popes Urban and Paul. Michael Angelo designed the beautiful Capello Gregoriana. His lovely "Pieta" is the Cappella della Pieta, and this is the most splendid work within the building. Tombs of popes are seen in the various chapels. In the resplendent choir chapel is Thorvaldsen's statue of Pius VII. The Vatican is a great museum of statuary, the finest collection in existence to-day. On the site of the building once stood a Roman emperor's palace, which was reconstructed as a residence for Pope Innocent III. Besides the statues in the Vatican and the cathedral, there are many remarkable works of sculpture in the Villa Albani and the Capitoline. In the Capitoline Museum are, the "Dying Gladiator," the "Resting Faun," and the "Venus."